Improved railway-car brake



E. SLATER.

Car Brake.

Patented 1an. 11, 1870.

.Zim/azz for tuittd lteres ERASTUS SLATEILYOF GIRARD, PENNSYLVANIA.

LettersI Patent No. 98,716, dated January 11, 1870.

' IMPRQVED RAILWAY-CAIR BRAKE.

The Schedule referred to in. these Letters-Patent and making part of thesame.

To all whom it may concern Be it known thatI, ERAsTUs SLATER, of theborough of Girard, in the county of Erie, and the State of Pennsylvania,have invented a new and useful Improvernent in Car-Brakes; and I dodeclare that the following is a full,`c1ear, and exact description ofthe construction and operation of the same, reference he-4 ing had totheannexed drawing, makingapartof this specification.

The nature of my invention consists in providing a railway-train with anapparatus whereby the brakes on the whole train can be set or unset bythe engineer,

' from the cab of the locomotive.

I accomplish this by attaching to the hind axle of the drive-wheels ofthe locomotive, a bevel-gear wheel, which gears into a similar wheelplaced on the end of a shaft which runs the whole length of the train.,at right angles to the several car-axles. This main shaft is coupledbetween the several cars, and can be uucoupled at the same time thecars'are coupled. Y

The following is a more full description of my invention, referencebeing had to the accompanying drawings: V

Figure l is a transverse sectional view of that portion of my inventionwhich is attached to thelocomotive drive-wheel axle. l

Figure 2 is a transverse sectional view of the drum on the line-shaft,and around which the chain from the brakes iswound.

`Figure 3 is a transverse sectional View of the lineshaft coupling.

Figure 4 is a vert-ical sectional view of the same.

Figure 5 is a perspective view of the brake proper, showing the drum onthe shaft and the brake-chain in position.

Figure 6 is a vertical or top view of a series of car-V trucks, showingthe position of my invention.

l The manner in which my invention is constructed and operated, is asfollows:

I first attach to the hind axle of the locomotive drive-wheels, abevel-gear, C.

I then hang upon t-he said axle A, a frame, B.

In this frame I place a short shaft, E, on which is 'a bevelfear, I),which gears with the gear C ou the axle A. Hence, it will be seen, thatas the locomotive moves, the shaft E will he revolved.

I also hang in the frame B, another shaft, M, which is coupled with theshaft E, by a conical or frictiouclutch, F G.

rI his clutch is thrown in and outof gear by the lever Y, which isconnected to the conical iron F by the yoke L, which fits the neck ofthe same.

The cone F revolves only when in gear; it is then revolved by the wingst L on the end of the shaft E slipping into the grooves j j in thechamber k, ir.

the cone vF. It will, therefore, be seen, that when the lever Y is drawnback, the shaft E, only revolves; but 4when it is drawn up, the clutchFG communicates 4the motion to the shaft M, which shaft traverses thewhole length of the train, and is coupled between cars in such a manneras to allow of the `vibrating motion of the cars.

This I accomplish in the following manner, reference being had to igs. 3and 4.

I construct a box, a, one end of lwhich is a ballv and-socketjoint, P,and isl securely attached to one end of a section of shafting.

The other end oi' the box a is a chamber, with four grooves, fr yr 1'1', in its sides. On the end of the section of shaftiug to which this isto couple, are four wings, to correspond with the four grooves r r r fr,and slide in them.

O11 the sides of the box a are ltwo springs, S S, which, when compressedby the turning of the eccentric collar B, hook over the end of the boxa, and grasp the shaft M back of the wings e e, &c., which are slippedinto the groovesr r' r rr, and hold the shaft into the box a. YVhen itis desired to uncouple, it is done by turning the eccentric rim B", soas to allow the springs S S to spring up. On the shaft M, where it isdesired to attach a brake-chain, I attach a friction-drum, around whichthe brake-chain is wound.

This I construct so that it will sustain a certain desired amount ofstrain, and when more is applied, it will slip.

It is constructed as follows, (see iig. 2:)

N -is a conical-shaped iron, which is wedged or keyed tight to theshaft.`

, T is a cylinder, fitting on to N.

N, at its smaller end, has a screw cut on it; and 0 is a burr, whichscrews on to it, and as it is screwed down, it shoves the cylinderdowuharder on to the cone N, producing, of course, more friction. Hence,this` device can be set to sustain more or less strain.

O' is a washer, to prevent the burr gigging back when the 'cylinder Trevolves.

Fig. 5 shows the manner in which the brakes are operated. `1? and f arethe brake-beams, on one of which, P', is attached the rock-shaft A', outof which extend the arms B',(Z, and h. ,y

The brake-beam f is connected with the rock-shaft A', by theconnecting-bar f'. From the arm B', the brake-chain V is attached to thedrum T on the'lineshaft M.' Now, as the shaft M is madeto revolve, bythe action of the mechanism shown in tig. 1, the brakechain V is woundaround the drum T, and the arm B is drawn up, thereby tipping therock-shai`t A; and by the arm d and connecting-bar f the brake-bars fand P are drawn together, and when the full tension is exerted on thebrakes that the drum T is set to, it

will slip on the cone N, before described. As the portion shown in fig.1 is under the cab of the `locomotive, it will be seen, that a. lever,extending from the lever Y np into the cab, Will enable the engineer tooperate the whole machine.

I do not claim a longitudinal shaft, nor the arrangement of bevelgears,nor the method of connecting ,the revolving shaft with the brake-levers;-but What- I do claim, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. rlhe shaft M, extending by coupling through the train, connected bythe clutch F G, with its operabing-lever, to the she; E, which carriesthe bevel-gear, as set forth.. o i

2. On lche shaft M, thus operated, the frictionclutch drum, arranged andoperating in the described connections, as set forth.

3. The coupling-devicev constructed of the described parts, arranged andoperating as sel; forth.

' ERASTUS SLATER.

Witnesses HENRY BALL, M. F. MCINTYRE.

